


What Follows the Night

by Gaygent37



Series: Tentatodd Week 2019 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Blood and Gore, Decapitation, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Descriptions of Murder, Graphic description of torture, Hurt/Comfort, Jason has tentacles, Kinda tentacuddles, M/M, Nightmares, Psychological Torture, Tentacles, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-24 18:41:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaygent37/pseuds/Gaygent37
Summary: “Please…” a voice rasped from behind him. “Don’t- Don’t kill him, Jay…”Jason turned around slowly, his grin only stretching wider. “And why not, Dickie?” he asked. He moved the boy right in front of Dick’s face so that he was well within Dick’s reach… if only Dick’s arms were not restrained.





	What Follows the Night

Buddy squeezed tighter around the frail neck of the human in his grasps.

Jason watched on with a sickening smile on his face. It was so strange how easily one’s neck could be snapped.

The boy’s face was purpling as his hands scratched harmlessly against Buddy. He struggled, but it was useless. Jason was too strong for him. He laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls of the warehouse, distorting his voice to something inhuman.

“Please…” a voice rasped from behind him. “Don’t- Don’t kill him, Jay…”

Jason turned around slowly, his grin only stretching wider. “And why not, Dickie?” he asked. He moved the boy right in front of Dick’s face so that he was well within Dick’s reach… if only Dick’s arms were not restrained.

Jason chuckled darkly, amused by himself. “Look at him,” he hissed. “Even if I let go now, and he lives… he’s going to be braindead. And no one needs a braindead little thing walking around.”

“No, Jason-” Dick tried again. “ _Please_ snap out of it! That’s Tim! Your brother!”

“I don’t _have_ any brothers,” Jason growled. “I don’t have a family. I don’t have anyone. I don’t _need_ anyone!”

With that, Buddy squeezed even tighter, and in one swift tug, pulled the boy’s head off of his body.

Dick let out a scream as blood gushed everywhere, The body dropped out of Buddy’s grip, and the head also tumbled down, rolling until it came to a stop at Jason’s feet.

Jason grinned as he bent over and picked up the severed head. “Hm, I think I’ll have this shrunken, and maybe hang it on a little keychain?” he giggled. “I’ll send it to Daddy Bats for his upcoming fiftieth birthday, and maybe he’ll have a little heart attack and finally leave me alone!”

Dick was openly sobbing now, his grieved screams echoing with Jason’s laughter. He struggled hard again the tentacles holding him, but Jason was not ready to let him go yet.

Instead, he turned towards his next victim, who had been lying unconscious, waiting his turn.

“Ah, yes,” Jason said, as Buddy went to go pick the boy up. “Dickie’s… favorite… birdie…” he said, hatred and venom filling each word.

“P- _Please_ not him, J-Jay, I- I _beg_ of you!” Dick sobbed. “I’ll- I’ll do whatever you want! Just _pl- please.”_

Jason gave a quiet little hum. “I rather do like you begging,” he murmured. “Too bad it’s too late for that. You can’t give me anything I want anymore. I just want my revenge against the so called family that ruined my life.”

With that, Jason picked the unconscious boy off the ground.

Another tentacle, Ollie, came over and slapped the side of the boy’s face, hard. “Wakey wakey, Dami,” Jason sang, finishing with a cold, high-pitched giggle. “Time for a _little_ fun.”

The boy’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He let out a weak groan. Immediately, he glanced over at Dick, who was sobbing and screaming, barely able to breathe. “G-Grayson?”

“Shhh…” Jason said softly. “Ignore him, baby bat. Spotlight’s on you now.”

“Wh-What did you do to him?!” Damian demanded angrily, struggling against Buddy and Ollie. He glanced at the head lying at Jason’s feet and the headless body lying a few feet away in a large pool of blood. “Oh my god,” he whispered. “You- You killed Drake?”

“ _Ooh_ , killed is a bit of a strong word,” Jason said. “I prefer… hm, pulled the plug, sent him to follow the sunset, snuffed him out?”

“You’re sick,” Damian spat, pulling his arms against Ollie and Buddy, who held him tightly.

Jason’s face grew dark. “Won’t stop me from snapping your neck as well.”

Damian tilted his head up defiantly. “I dare you,” he hissed.

Dick let out a broken sob in the background.

“Think you’re brave, don’t you?” Jason asked cruelly. “I think you need to be knocked down a few pegs. I’ll show _you_.” With that, Jason crooked a finger and called Choco and Nilla over. “I want you two to punch him, one on each side, until you rip a clean hole through him.”

Choco and Nilla did not move.

“ _Now!_ ” Jason snarled.

Choco and Nilla quickly sprung forward, positioning themselves on either side of Damian’s body. Nilla was in front of Damian. She glanced up at Damian, and for a second, she paused. Then, with incredible strength, both she and Choco slammed forward. She punched into the spot right under Damian’s ribs, and Choco cracked into Damian’s spine.

They sprang back and repeated the motion.

Damian gritted his teeth and refused to cry out. Sweat beaded up at his forehead, but he remained stubborn. Dick’s screams and sobs were the only thing that was keeping him from pleading for his life. Jason’s laughter spurred Damian not to give in to the torture.

By the third strike from Choco, there was a loud crack as Damian’s spine snapped. Even then, the boy did not cry out.

Dick wailed and pleaded again, nearly choking on his own tears.

Now, Jason was watching impassively, no sign of expression on his face.

On the fifth punch, Damian had gone limp, his head slumped over and unmoving. Nilla and Choco stopped their assault, glancing up at Jason for further direction.

Jason frowned ever so slightly. “I don’t care if he’s dead,” he said. “Keep going.”

“Jason, just _please!”_

Choco and Nilla glanced at Dick for a split second before obeying Jason’s orders. They used Damian’s defenseless body as a punching bag, until by the twenty-fifth punch, there was a spurt of blood, and Choco came away dripping in dark red.

Still, he did not stop. He and Nilla continued ramming into Damain’s chest until there had been a clean hole punched through the boy’s body. Finally, convinced that he was completely dead, Jason waved his hand.

Choco and Nilla immediately pulled back, while Buddy and Ollie slowly let Damian down onto the ground.

Jason turned to Dick. “It’s just you and me now, Dickiebird.”

“ _Jason_ ,” Dick whispered, hiccups cutting through his words.

“I’m sorry, Dick,” Jason said, his voice cold and hard. “It had to be this way.”

“N-No, it d-doesn’t!” Dick said. “Please! J-Jay!”

Jason trembled, and his eyebrows furrowed for a second. His gaze immediately cut back to Dick. “Yes, it _does_. You ruined me! You and your stupid family ruined me! You didn’t let me get my revenge, you didn’t care to avenge me, you didn’t bother insuring that I was the last one! You didn’t _care_!”

“ _Jason_!”

Jason awoke with a gasp. Dick’s worried face hovered over him in the dark, his hands on either side of Jason’s cheeks.

“Nightmare?” he asked softly.

Jason swallowed hard, vaguely aware of a wetness on his face. “Yeah,” he whispered.

Dick leaned over and kissed his forehead. “I’ve got you, Little Wing,” he assured. “We’ve got you.”

“We?” Jason asked, his voice ragged and weary. Images of his little brothers’ broken bodies still hovered in his mind.

“Yeah,” Dick said, pulling back and giving Jason a small smile. “All of us.”

From around Dick, Jason’s tentacles started peeking out, shy and tentatively, like they were afraid of him.

Of course they were afraid of him. They knew what he dreamt about. He closed his eyes, ashamed. Two tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes, and he took a shaky deep breath.

Then, something gentle nuzzled his chin. Jason opened his eyes a bit, blinking away the tears. It was Opal.

Then, on his other side, another nuzzle followed by a soft “ _Meep!”_ Penny and Inkling.

Sleipnir, Basil, Boop, Tavi, and Spaghetti all found somewhere to curl up against his chest. Mimi grabbed a tissue and gently dabbed at his tears. Romeo bumped his head against Jason’s bicep before curling around Dick’s wrist.

Charlie and Max smoothed his hair back.

The four that were left were the four in his dream – Buddy, Ollie, Choco, and Nilla.

“Do you guys hate me?” he whispered.

Choco and Nilla each took a side of his face and leaned against him, pressing gentle kisses to his cheeks. Jason could feel their constant thrum of _love you, love you, love you._

More tears sprang into his eyes. Ollie grabbed the entire tissue box and set it by his pillow. Then he joined the others curled up on Jason’s chest.

Buddy was left for last. He stared at Jason for a long while, and for a second, Jason thought Buddy would not forgive him.

Then, Buddy leaned back a bit, and pushed Dick forward.

He continued to nudge Dick forward until Dick’s face was inches from Jason’s. Dick got the idea.

He first pressed a soft kiss to Jason’s nose, then to his lips. “See? We all love you, Jay. Nothing can change that.”

Jason did not answer.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Jason’s stomach lurched. He did not even want to think about it. “No,” he rasped. “It’s too… fresh.”

“Okay,” Dick said a bit dubiously. “Know that we love you though. And you are enough for us. You’re more than enough for us, okay?”

“Yeah,” Jason said hollowly.

Dick sighed and pressed his lips together, knowing that Jason was lying to him. But he did not press further.

“Then let’s go back to sleep,” Dick said, rolling back over and settling down next to Jason. He twined their fingers together under the covers. Romeo looped himself around Jason’s wrist as well.

As Dick’s breathing eased and became steady, Jason turned his head to look at him.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered almost imperceptibly.

Choco lightly slapped his cheek.

“I don’t,” Jason insisted. “None of them. I don’t deserve any of them. I don’t deserve this second chance I was given, but- someone gave it to me anyway,” Jason said in that soft, almost awed voice. “But… Dickie’s happy, right? I would never do anything to make him sad. I hope so at least.”

His tentacles said nothing, as none of them could talk. Inkling did give a sad little _“Meep”_ but nothing else.

The just curled around him tighter than before, and pushed the message _he loves you, we love you, he loves you, we love you_ into his mind over and over again until Jason fell asleep to their soft chants.

**Author's Note:**

> This hurt me a lot to write it. I have always believed (hate me if you want) that the best way to hurt Jason is to hurt Dick. But to hurt Jason directly made me wanna cry.
> 
> I swear the rest of my week isn't sad or angsty. And I only have 2 things planned for this week that overlaps with Tentacuddles AU, and the second one is tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed! I spent so much time cramming to get this week done at the last minute, I'm so glad it's over. Time to just enjoy! <3


End file.
